Once
Setting it up
Connecting it to WhatsApp, your inbox or your website, giving it your prices, hours and policies, and testing it on the questions your customers really ask.
A fixed price, agreed before I start.
AI · WhatsApp, email & web
AI for small businesses, only where it pays off.
Everyone’s selling AI at the moment. I’ll tell you what it really costs, where it would save you time or win you customers, and where it wouldn’t. Then I set it up on WhatsApp, your email or your website, with you in charge.
- Free 30-minute call
- Every cost in writing first
- You stay in charge
YCYour caféAI assistant · replies in seconds
Today
Hi! Are you open on Sunday? Could I book a table for 4 at 1pm?
AI assistantHi! Yes, we’re open 10:00–17:00 on Sunday, and a table for 4 at 13:00 is free. What name should I put it under?
Mary. Thanks!
All booked: Sunday at 13:00, a table for 4 under Mary. See you then!
assistant logExample
- WhatsApp message21:47 · you’re closed
- Checked your hoursSunday 10:00–17:00
- Table bookedSunday 13:00 · 4 people
- You were toldBy email
- Email: a party for 40Draft ready for youReview
This chat€0.02
This month€4.10of your €20 limit
[ What others leave out ]
AI costs money. Here’s where it goes.
A lot of AI is sold as if it were free and ran itself. It isn’t, and it doesn’t. There are three costs, and you see all of them in writing before anything is built.
Every month
Running it
The AI company charges for every message it reads and writes, WhatsApp charges businesses for some messages, and it all needs hosting. A busy month costs more than a quiet one.
An estimate up front, and a monthly limit it can’t go over.
Every month
Keeping it right
Prices, menus and opening hours change, and the assistant has to change with them. Someone also needs to read what it’s been telling people.
Covered by a monthly care plan.
Sometimes the honest answer is no. If a clear FAQ page, an automatic reply or a booking form would do the job, I’ll tell you, and you won’t pay for AI you don’t need.
[ Where it helps ]
The jobs AI does well in a small business
It earns its keep on the repetitive messages that arrive when you’re busy or closed. These are the jobs I set it up for.
WhatsApp that answers at 11pm
Opening hours, prices, availability and directions, answered in seconds. It takes booking requests and passes anything unusual to you.
An inbox that sorts itself
It reads new enquiries, puts the urgent ones at the top and drafts replies for you to check. Nothing goes out until you press Send.
A helper on your website
It answers visitors’ questions from your own pages at any hour, and sends the promising ones to you by email or WhatsApp.
In your visitors’ language
A guest from Madrid or Munich can ask in Spanish or German and get the answer in the same language, which counts for a lot in Kerry.
Replies to your reviews
A draft reply to every new Google review, in your own words, ready for you to approve before it goes up.
Paperwork that fills itself in
It reads invoices, receipts and forms and puts the details into your system, for you to check.
[ Is it for you? ]
When AI is worth it, and when it isn’t
In 2025, 17.2% of small Irish firms (10 to 49 staff) used AI, against 57.7% of large ones. Plenty of small businesses don’t need it yet, and that’s fine. This is how to tell.
Worth a look if
- You answer the same questions over and over
- Messages arrive in the evening or at weekends, when you can’t reply
- Customers write to you in other languages
- Bookings or quotes come in by message and take time to sort out
- You or your staff lose hours a week to email
Probably not yet if
- You get a handful of messages a week
- Every enquiry needs your own judgement
- Your prices change from job to job
- Your website isn’t bringing in enquiries yet. Start there.
[ How I set it up ]
Done properly, with you in charge
An assistant speaks for your business, so it has to be set up with care. Every one I build comes with these.
It says it’s an assistant
Your customers always know they’re talking to an AI and can ask for a person at any point. EU law has required it since August 2026.
It sticks to what you’ve told it
It answers from your own prices, hours and policies. When it isn’t sure, it says so and hands the conversation to you instead of guessing.
You decide what it sends
It can reply on its own or write a draft and wait for your OK. You choose, channel by channel.
A limit on the bill
You set a monthly maximum for the running costs. You get an email as it gets close, and it never goes over.
Your customers’ data looked after
Set up with AI providers that don’t train their models on your messages, keeping only what’s needed, with your privacy notice updated to match.
You see every conversation
Every chat is saved where you can read it. Once a month you get a short report: questions answered, bookings made, chats handed to you and what it all cost.
[ How it works ]
From a free check to a working assistant
Small steps, with a decision at each one, and no surprises on the bill.
- 01
Free AI check
Half an hour on where your messages come in and what takes up your time. If AI isn’t the answer, I’ll say so.
- 02
A plan in writing
What it will do, a fixed price for setting it up, the monthly running cost I expect and the limit it can’t go over.
- 03
Built and tested
One channel first, tested on your real questions before a single customer sees it.
- 04
Live, with a report
It goes live with its monthly limit, and every month you get a short report. We change whatever needs changing.
[ Price ]
Quoted for your business
Every business needs something different, so there’s no package price. After the free check you get three numbers in writing: a fixed price for setting it up, the monthly running cost I expect, with a limit it can’t go over, and the monthly care fee. If it won’t pay for itself, you’ll hear that from me too.
Quoted per project
- Fixed set-up price
- Running costs estimated, with a monthly limit
- Monthly care for updates and checks
Not sure AI is right for you?
Book a free 30-minute AI check. You’ll get an honest answer, even if it’s no.
How much does an AI assistant cost a small business?
It depends on what it does and where, so I quote each one. Before anything is built you get three numbers in writing: a fixed price for setting it up, the monthly running cost I expect (the AI itself, messaging and hosting) with a limit it can’t go over, and a monthly care fee. If it wouldn’t pay for itself, I’ll tell you.
Will it say the wrong thing to my customers?
It can make mistakes, so I keep it to the information you give it, tell it to hand over whenever it isn’t sure, and test it on your real questions before it goes live. You can read every conversation, and for email it can wait for your OK before sending anything.
Do my customers need to know they’re talking to an AI?
Yes. Since 2 August 2026, EU rules say people must be told when they’re talking to an AI (the European Commission’s guidance). It’s good manners anyway, and your customers can always ask for a person.
Can it work on WhatsApp?
Yes, through WhatsApp’s official platform for businesses, on your business number. It answers questions and takes booking requests, and passes anything it can’t handle to you. WhatsApp charges businesses for some messages, and that goes into the running-cost estimate.
What happens to my customers’ data?
I set it up with AI providers that don’t use your messages to train their models, keep only what’s needed for as long as it’s needed, and update your privacy notice so customers know an assistant is involved, as GDPR asks.
Can I start small?
Yes, and I’d recommend it. Start with one channel, usually WhatsApp or email, see what it handles in the first month, then decide whether it’s worth more.
Do I need a website from you first?
No. It can work with your current website, your inbox or WhatsApp on their own. If your website isn’t bringing in enquiries yet, that’s usually the better place to start, and I’ll say so.
[ Contact ]
Let’s see if AI would pay off for you.
Tell me where your messages come in and what takes up your time. I’ll reply within one working day, and the first call is free.
What happens next
- 1I read your message and reply within one working day.
- 2We talk for half an hour, for free, about what you need.
- 3You get a fixed price in writing, with no obligation.
Prefer email?
info@ismaelwebdesign.ie